Queensland Government
Department of Housing and Public Works

Environmental management system

The department was committed to reducing negative environmental impacts through the integration of a robust environmental management system. This system involved:

  • integrating the principles of sound environmental management into the department's policies and procedures
  • maintaining a comprehensive environmental management system based on the international environmental management (AS/NZS ISO 14001:2004) standard
  • public demonstration of its commitment to providing environmentally-sensitive, quality services to clients by maintaining certification to the international environmental management standard.

Between 1 July 2008 and 31 March 2009, the department focused on smarter ways to reduce the carbon footprint of households assisted through the introduction of efficient, energy-saving solutions and the promotion of these to tenants. Between 1 July 2008 and 31 March 2009, every new tenant in a department-managed property received an information kit which included household hints on how to reduce their impact on the environment.

The department's housing designs and maintenance techniques continued to evolve with industry improvements and have been modified to include features which address climate issues. This was achieved both directly, through the more efficient use of building materials and installation of water and energy-saving devices, and indirectly through the provision of more usable outdoor space and use of designs and materials that minimise maintenance.

In protecting our environment, the Department of Housing contributed to the Toward Q2: Tomorrow's Queensland 2020 target of cutting Queenslanders' carbon footprint by one-third through reduced car and electricity use, by:

  • continuing the implementation of passive design features (ventilation, insulation, orientation and shading) for thermal comfort to reduce energy demand
  • increasing the use of solar powered devices in department-owned multi-unit complexes
  • converting to the use of green energy for communal electricity use in department-owned multi-unit complexes.

The department minimised waste through implementation of the Waste Reduction Strategic Plan as a key element of its overall environmental management system. The Waste Reduction Strategic Plan applied a waste management hierarchy based on the preferred practices outlined in the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Waste Management 2000). The practices of waste avoidance, waste reuse, waste recycling, waste energy recovery and waste disposal were applied to the following six key areas:

  • water
  • energy
  • motor vehicles
  • office equipment and consumables
  • capital works, including construction, maintenance and demolition
  • municipal solid waste.

Construction and maintenance

Between 1 July 2008 and 31 March 2009, the department commenced the construction of 245 new dwellings and completed construction of 331 new dwellings. These dwellings were built and maintained in accordance with the department's environmental management system.

At a cost of $4.83 million, the department installed approximately 10,000 water-efficient devices, which included water-efficient shower roses, water flow restrictors and the replacement of single flush toilets with dual flush toilets. Water sub-meters were installed in over 1,280 existing accommodation dwellings and 58 rainwater tanks were installed in new construction of department-owned dwellings as per local council and Queensland Development Code requirements.

The Department of Housing worked towards reducing waste when upgrading social housing by:

  • crushing and recycling old pavers
  • removing and recycling all excess aluminium from sites
  • using smarter building methods and products.

From 1 July 2008 to 31 March 2009, the department recycled a total of 18 dwellings that under other circumstances may have been demolished. In addition, four relocatable homes that were gifted to the department by the Department of Main Roads were relocated to Woombye Gardens Caravan Park for social housing tenants.

Water–Wise Garden Awards

The Department of Housing's Water–Wise Garden Awards were established to recognise the important role that social housing tenants play in improving their local communities and focus on how gardens reflect and promote water–wise principles. Tenants who reduced water usage in their gardens by using water–efficient plants and gardening practices, such as using composting materials and mulch, were eligible to participate. Information about water–wise gardening was sent to each household and an article, Garden Awards – A Blooming Success was published in the December 2008 edition of Tenant News to reinforce the message of water conservation.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The Department of Housing was committed to supporting the Queensland Government's Toward Q2 target to cut Queensland's greenhouse gas emissions by one–third by 2020. This commitment included implementation of the Government's climate change and other environmental strategies.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, six gases have been identified as the main greenhouse gas emissions that need to be reduced. The gases are carbon dioxide, hydrofluorocarbons, methane, nitrous oxides, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride. As part of standard emission measurement practices these gases are mainly reported as carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO 2 -e).

The Queensland Government continues to develop and improve whole–of–Government data collection processes and systems to standardise reporting of its greenhouse gas emissions. The basis for this reporting is consistent with acknowledged national and international standards, including the definitions outlined in the AS ISO 14064 standards and the Australian Government's National Greenhouse Accounts Factors Workbook. These standards establish the following different categories of emissions that organisations (such as government agencies) need to consider, taking into account the particular organisation's operational boundaries:

  • Scope one – emissions that occur directly from sources which are owned or controlled by an organisation (e.g. emissions from departmental vehicles, on–site diesel generators, gas boilers etc)
  • Scope two – emissions that occur indirectly due solely to an organisation's consumption of electricity or steam or heating/cooling (which has been generated by the burning of fuels such as coal, natural gas, etc at power stations or other facilities not controlled by the organisation)
  • Scope three – emissions that occur indirectly due to actions of the organisation, but from sources which are not owned or controlled by the organisation. Some common examples of these sources include employee business travel (in vehicles or aircraft not owned or controlled by the reporting organisation) employees commuting to and from work; out–sourced activities; and transportation of products, materials and waste.

For the Department of Housing, the key greenhouse emissions were those that were linked to the following business activities:

  • vehicle usage
  • electricity consumption
  • air travel.

It should be noted that comprehensive reporting of greenhouse gas emissions by agencies is sometimes limited due to the complexity of the operational boundaries of agencies within the public sector, especially in situations where internal Government shared services providers are used.

While the best available data has been used, in some instances estimates have been reported due to the limitation of data collection systems, for example in Government–owned buildings where there are multiple tenants and the electricity usage cannot be attributed to a single agency, the Department of Public Works (DPW) calculates the electricity usage by tenanted agencies based on the percentage of the leased floor area occupied.

The following table outlines the emissions relating to the Department of Housing during the period 1 July 2008 to 31 March 2009:

Activity
Greenhouse gas emissions (tonnes of CO 2 )
Explanatory Notes
Scope one – Vehicle usage
QFleet vehicles
332 (Actual)
377 (Estimate)
*
Agency–owned vehicles
N/A
Scope two – Electricity consumption
Purchased directly from an electricity retailer
887
#
Sourced through a third party
1,584
†
Scope three – Air travel
Domestic air travel on commercial airlines
194.3
§
International travel on commercial airlines
9.7
§
Hired vehicles
Avis
10.0
**
Notes:
* The CO 2 –e emissions figure for the period 1 July 2008 to 31 March 2009 has been aggregated using National Greenhouse Emissions Reporting guidelines and represents emissions for four primary fuel types: unleaded petrol, diesel, liquified petroleum gas and E10. In the absence of comprehensive fuel consumption records (emissions reported in the 2007–2008 Annual Report were calculated based on kilometres travelled) both actual emissions based on available records and total estimated emissions are shown.
# Electricity – Government Owned Premises. This figure is based on actual electricity consumption records currently available to the Department of Housing for the period 1 July 2008 to 31 March 2009. Incomplete electricity consumption records have been extrapolated to produce an estimated electricity consumption figure up to 31 March 2009. For major office premises owned by the Department of Public Works where no separate sub-metering exists the carbon emissions associated with electricity consumption have been apportioned 45% to the owner/55% to the tenants. All electricity consumption has been converted to carbon emissions using the Scope two conversion factor of 0.91 kg CO 2 –e /kWh as recommended in the Australian Government's National Greenhouse Accounts Factors Workbook.
† Electricity – Premises leased from the private sector. This figure is for emissions associated with electricity use where the Department of Housing pays either the landlord or supply authority directly. It does not include data for leases where the agency pays the retailer directly or is invoiced directly by the Department of Public Works. This figure is based on actual electricity consumption from currently available records of electricity accounts received by the Department of Housing applicable to the period 1 July 2008 to 31 March 2009. Where full year records were not available, data has been apportioned/extrapolated to provide an estimate of electricity consumption up to 31 March 2009. In 2007–2008, the Annual Report included emissions linked to actual electricity consumption plus an added component to take account of the electricity consumption used by the owner to provide central services. The added component of electricity consumption is deemed a Scope three emission for tenants and will no longer be reported.
§ Air travel includes all flights recorded by the Queensland Government Chief Procurement Office during the period 1 July 2008 to 31 March 2009, specifically:
(1) International air travel on all airlines
(2) Domestic air travel on both the mainline 'trunk' carriers (i.e. the Qantas Group and Virgin Blue)
(3) Domestic air travel on smaller, regional carriers.
For all air travel (with the exception of travel under category (2) above) the following methodology is used: From data provided, the Queensland Government Chief Procurement Office calculates the kilometres flown. The kilometre figure is divided by 100 and multiplied by an industry average number of litres of fuel burnt per passenger, per 100 km's. A factor of five has been used for all air travel. The use of this method gives the average litres of fuel burnt for a flight, per passenger. This figure is subsequently converted from litres into kilograms and then from kilograms into tonnes, before being multiplied by 3.157 (which represents the amount of CO 2 tonnes produced by burning one tonne of aviation fuel; sourced from the International Civil Aviation Organisation). For domestic flights with Qantas, QantasLink, Jetstar and Virgin Blue for the period 1 July 2008 to 31 December 2008 the number of passengers per sector was calculated. This information was then passed on to the respective airline for calculation of carbon emissions.
** The hire car vehicle emissions show only emissions for AVIS vehicles booked under Standing Offer Arrangement managed by the Queensland Government Chief Procurement Office.

Motor vehicles

The department implemented its ClimateSmart Fleet Management plan which outlined the strategic processes by which the department manages its motor vehicle fleet to successfully meet the whole–of–Government greenhouse gas emission reduction targets of:

  • 15% by 31 December 2010
  • 25% by 2012
  • 50% by 2017, when compared with 30 June 2007 levels.

The department reduced its CO 2 emissions by 14.54% (0.082kt) between 30 June 2007 and 31 March 2009, and has almost achieved the first whole–of–Government target 21 months ahead of schedule.

The department continued to restructure its fleet type by significantly reducing the number of six–cylinder vehicles with lower emission and diesel-fuelled vehicles to improve the fleet environmental profile. The following table outlines the Department of Housing's fleet profile:

Motor vehicles
2006-07
2007-08
31 March 2009
Number of fleet vehicles at 30 June
147
146
148
Number of six-cylinder vehicles at 30 June
57
40
13
Petrol purchased (litres)
211,224
195,589
148,931
Ethanol petrol purchased (litres)
39,292
53,903
33,308
Diesel purchased (litres)
9,569
12,482
16,241

Office equipment and consumables

The department encouraged environmentally sensitive office management practices including avoidance, re-use and recycling in all office consumables and fit-outs. This involved minimising waste paper by avoiding unnecessary printing, setting photocopier defaults to the double-sided option, recovering and re-using office materials where possible, and recycling paper and photocopier cartridges in preference to disposing in landfill. Computers, printers and photocopiers were sold in the second-hand market for re-use.

The department's Agency Purchasing Procedures were developed in accordance with the Queensland Government's Better Purchasing Guide on Environmentally Friendly Purchasing. In accordance with the department's Agency Purchasing Procedures, all suppliers were required to submit an environmental management plan or strategy as part of their response to departmental offers for the supply of office equipment and consumables.

The amount of paper purchased by the department between 1 July 2008 and 31 March 2009 is shown in the following table:

Paper usage
2006-07
2007-08
31 March 2009
Reams of paper purchased
22,410
22,089
19,155